Sustainability Appraisal : Background Paper B
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Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Local Development Framework Sustainability Appraisal Background Paper B Baseline Data June 2010 Planning Policy Manager Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Town Hall St. Ives Road Maidenhead SL6 1RF SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data Contents Glossary i 1 Introduction 1 2 Population and Geographical Area 3 3 Housing 7 4 Transport and Accessibility 17 5 Community Activity and Neighbourhoods 31 6 Crime 37 7 Poverty and Social Exclusion 41 8 Health and Well-being 45 9 Education and Skills 51 10 Employment 57 11 Economy 65 12 Town, District and Local Centres 69 13 Leisure and Culture 73 14 Open Space and Landscape 79 15 Natural Environment 81 16 Quality of the Built Environment 89 17 Air and Noise 93 18 Energy and Climate Change 97 19 Use of Land Resources 105 20 Water Management and Flooding 111 21 Waste Management 117 SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data Contents SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data i Glossary Affordable housing Housing intended to meet the needs of people whose incomes are insufficient to enable them to buy or rent suitable housing, without subsidy, on the open market. Air Quality Management Areas Local authorities have statutory duties for local air quality (AQMA) management under the Environment Act 1995. They are required to carry out regular reviews and assessments of air quality in their area against standards and objectives in the national Air Quality Strategy. Where it is found these are unlikely to be met, authorities must designate air quality management areas (AQMAs) and prepare and implement remedial action plans to tackle the problem. AMR Annual Monitoring Report. Section 35 of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires every local planning authority to produce an Annual Monitoring Report. Ancient Woodland Ancient Woodland in England, is defined as an area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600 AD. Audit Commission An independent public body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently, and effectively in the areas of local government, housing, health, criminal justice and fire and rescue services. Baseline Data The data is used as a reference with which to compare future observations or results. Biodiversity The richness and variety of living things (i.e. plants and animals), which exist in a given area, and the habitats that support them. BREEAM standard The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) provides a comprehensive standard for reporting on the environmental performance of nonresidential buildings. The assessment includes energy efficiency, waste and water management of buildings and can help to reduce the running and maintenance costs of buildings and facilities. Brownfield Site Land for development which has previously been developed. Business Density Business density is calculated as the number of businesses within an area per 1, 000 residents is a good indicator of enterprise in an economy. BVPI Best Value Performance Indicator. Now been replaced by National Indicators (NI). CIEH Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. Commission for Architecture and A Government funded organisation that promotes high standards in the Built Environment (CABE) the design of buildings and the spaces between them. It offers advice to those who create, manage and use the built environment. Conservation Area An area which is of special historic or architectural character and is worthy of preservation designated by the Local Planning Authority under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Decent Home A decent home meets the following four criteria: ii SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data Glossary a – It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing. Dwellings below this standard are those defined as unfit under section 604 of the Housing Act 1985 (as amended by the 1989 Local Government and Housing Act). b – It is in a reasonable state of repair. Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those where either: one or more of the key building components are old and, because of their condition, need replacing or major repair; or two or more of the other building components are old and, because of their condition, need replacing or major repair. c – It has reasonably modern facilities and services. Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following: a reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less); a kitchen with adequate space and layout; a reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less); an appropriately located bathroom and WC; adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem); adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats. A home lacking two or less of the above is still classed as decent therefore it is not necessary to modernise kitchens and bathrooms if a home passes the remaining criteria. d – It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. This criterion requires dwellings to have both effective insulation and efficient heating. (ODPM definition) Department for Environment, Food Department for Environment, Food and Regional Affairs. and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Development Plan Document (DPD) A spatial planning document within the Council’s Local Development Framework which set out policies for development and the use of land. Together with the Regional Spatial Strategy they form the development plan for the area. They are subject to independent examination. EcoHomes standard EcoHomes is an environmental assessment method that measures the potential environmental impacts of new and existing housing. EcoHomes has been devised by the Building Research Establishment. This flexible standard rewards positive steps to improve the environmental performance of housing in the UK. It considers the broad environmental concerns of climate change, resource use and impact on wildlife. It balances these against the need for a high-quality, safe and healthy internal environment. Ecological Footprint This is a tool that measures our natural resource consumption and our global environmental impact. It measures the total quantity of land and sea area required to produce the food, fibre and minerals we consume, absorb the waste we produce (including CO2 emissions), and provide the space for our infrastructure. As we consume resources and ecological services from all over the world, so our footprint is a sum of those areas (measured in ‘global hectares), wherever they are on the planet. Ecological Footprint SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data iii Glossary allows us to assess whether our consumption of natural resources is within the planet’s overall environmental limits. Flood Zone Maps The Environment Agency prepare Flood Zone maps for local authority areas which show the annual probability of a flooding event in a given area. There are three categories of flood zone maps: Flood Zone 1 which is defined as low risk; Flood Zone 2 – medium risk i.e. 1 in 1000 years and Flood Zone 3 which is high risk i.e. 1 in 100 years from river flooding. These maps are used as a basis to identify those areas of land that may be vulnerable to flood events. Fuel Poverty The common definition of a fuel poor household is one needing to spend in excess of 10% of household income to achieve a satisfactory heating regime (21°C in the living room and 18°C in the other occupied rooms). Gross Value Added per capita One of the most commonly used measures of economic well-being is Gross Value Added (GVA) per head. GVA measures the contribution to the economy of each individual producer, industry or sector in the UK. In summary: GVA + taxes on products – subsidies on products = Gross Domestic Product (GDP). HECA Home Energy Conservation Act. HIP Housing Investment Programme. Historic Parks and Gardens These are included on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England. Indicator Measure of variables over time, often used to measure achievement of objectives. Indices of Deprivation The most comprehensive mapping of deprivation across England was launched in April 2004 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The new indices are based on 37 indicators classified into seven domains of deprivation: income deprivation • employment deprivation health deprivation and disability • living environment deprivation barriers to housing and services crime education, skills and training deprivation A weighting system has been employed to take account of the relative contribution that each of the seven domains contributes to the level of deprivation within an area. ‘Income Deprivation’ and ‘Employment Deprivation’ are the most highly weighted, each being given a weighting of 22.5%. Job Density Job density figures represent the ratio of total jobs to working-age population. Listed Building A building listed by the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as being of special architectural or historic interest. Local Development Framework Consists of a number of documents which together form the spatial (LDF) strategy for development and the use of land. iv SA Background Paper B: Baseline Data Glossary Local Nature Reserve (LNR) A site of special scientific interest designated by the Local Planning Authority under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 as being a nature reserve of local importance. Material Recovery Facility (MRF) An MRF accepts all the dry mixed recycables (plastic bottles, food and drink cans, newspapers, magazines, etc) that are collected from kerbside collections. It then separates the mixture into one type and bales it together into a load which can be transported to a commercial facility which recycles the material into a raw product. Micro-renewables/Microgeneration Microgeneration is an environmentally-friendly method of producing heat and power on a small scale - including technologies such as solar panels, small-scale wind turbines and heat pumps. NI National Indicator. They are the measure on which central Government will performance manage outcomes delivered by local government working alone or in partnership.